My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 168

“Let’s go together.”

“Pardon?”

“I think it’s best to resolve this issue first.”

“What issue are you talking about?”

Instead of answering, Park Do-joon headed upstairs to the second floor. Thanks to Jang Jin-woo’s inheritance, the house was quite large.

“Which room is Se-joon’s?”

“It’s here, at the very end.”

“Come quietly.”

Park Do-joon quietly moved his feet and suddenly flung open the door to Jang Se-joon’s room.

Se-joon, who was in the middle of changing, screamed in surprise.

“Ah! Who are you!”

But Jang So-young was even more shocked.

“Se-joon, what’s wrong with your body!”

A body covered in bruises and clothes full of dirt.

“Oh, that’s… I just got into a fight.”

“No, you…”

“Doesn’t look like a fight to me.”

Park Do-joon frowned as he looked at Se-joon.

“Are you being bullied at school?”

“Gasp! How did you know…?”

Se-joon covered his mouth as he spoke. Then, he glanced at his mother. Jang So-young’s eyes widened at those words.

“What do you mean you’re being bullied?”

“Well…”

“Okay, calm down.”

Calming the agitated Jang So-young, Park Do-joon approached Se-joon. There were bruises all over, some red and some blue. And some bruises were fading, as if they had been there for a while. It was highly likely that he had been bullied at school for a long time.

“Se, Se-joon…!”

Tears streamed from Jang So-young’s shaking eyes, as if she had been struck by a hammer.

“Get, get out! Get out!”

Se-joon kicked everyone out and locked the door from the inside.

Park Do-joon scratched his head as he watched.

“This is just great…”

“Detective, what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain everything. And can you call Se-joon’s father?”

It seemed like they needed to solve the simple problems first.

“Se-joon is being bullied…”

Lee Hak-soo frowned. He was so shocked that his hands trembled with anger. Well, anyone would be angry if their child was being bullied.

“The current situation is unavoidable.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Park Do-joon said calmly, which was unexpected. In fact, he understood the situation as soon as he saw Se-joon.

“You moved here after Jang Jin-woo passed away, right?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so. Jang Jin-woo’s inheritance wasn’t small.”

“Are you suspecting us?”

“No, no. I’m talking about how others perceive you because of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is a typical affluent neighborhood.”

It’s natural for parents to worry about their children’s studies and future. If any parent has the opportunity to change that, they’ll take it. They’ll even work to create that opportunity.

“Like the saying ‘Mencius’s mother moved three times’ [referring to the lengths parents will go to for their child’s education].”

Mencius’s mother moved three times is a Chinese proverb that says Mencius’s mother moved three times to educate her son. At first, they lived near a market, but Mencius imitated the merchants in the market, so they moved. But then they happened to live near someone who performed funeral rites, and Mencius’s mother saw him playing while embalming, so she moved near a school this time.

“Especially since Koreans have a strong desire for education.”

“Are you saying that’s wrong?”

Lee Hak-soo said sharply. But Park Do-joon shook his head at those words.

“It’s not wrong. But the people around you won’t just let it go.”

“They won’t let it go?”

“This is a typical affluent neighborhood. The school is probably private too.”

In both Korea and the United States, schools are divided into public and private. In Korea, there isn’t much difference between public and private, but in the United States, it can make a big difference in a child’s life.

Expensive private schools can easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just for tuition. That’s just the tuition paid to the school, not including the cost of extracurricular activities and tutoring.

“As I said before, resentment arises when those around you don’t like you, no matter how well I do. From what I see, this is a predominantly white neighborhood. Isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

“So, if a wealthy Asian young couple moves in, will they welcome you with open arms?”

Lee Hak-soo bit his lip at those words. He knew because he had experienced it himself. He is now recognized as an important researcher at the company, but in the early days, he wasn’t even treated with basic respect.

Some even treated him like a guinea pig in a laboratory.

“It’s not your fault. But there’s no way that other people won’t be jealous.”

And that will have an impact at school as well.

“There are many wealthy people. Some are Black, some are White, some are Asian, and some are Hispanic. But this neighborhood seems to have a particularly white-dominated population.”

Park Do-joon looked at the faces of the residents as he came. Most of them were white. There were some Black people, but judging from their clothes, they were probably employees rather than residents.

Was that a coincidence? No. The possibility of that being a coincidence is very low.

“Could it be…?”

“They’re probably completely isolating outsiders.”

At school, the students would bully Lee Se-joon, and Jang So-young would probably be subtly ostracized by the residents as well.

“That’s right. They started avoiding me.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s because of Se-joon.”

She came all the way here for Se-joon’s future. But no mother would run away just because she was uncomfortable.

“Then…”

“The bullying will probably continue.”

Lee Hak-soo bit his lip at those words. This was not what he wanted.

“The best way is to move.”

“Now?”

“This kind of prejudice will never disappear.”

“There is no racism in America? That’s nonsense.”

“But…”

“There is no choice. Do you think the school is unaware of this?”

There’s no way they don’t know. They know. They’re pretending not to know even though they know.

“This cannot be resolved through normal channels.”

You can’t expect one person, one area, to change.

“But…”

Lee Hak-soo hesitated before opening his mouth.

“We donated to get into this school.”

“Donated?”

“Yes.”

Lee Ji-soo asked at those words.

“Donated?”

“America is a land of opportunity, but that opportunity is often linked to money.”

The school may be famous and attract talented students. In fact, as in Korea, connections are important in the United States. So, attending a prestigious school is very important.

The problem is that the number of seats is limited and there are many applicants. Generally, it’s first-come, first-served, or by lottery, but one way to improve your chances is through donations.

“‘Legacy admissions’ [admissions based on family ties or donations] are not illegal in the United States. Of course, they don’t accept all students with donations, but they can accept a percentage of students with donations as stipulated by law.”

Through donation admissions, schools believe that raising children with sufficient assets will contribute to America’s strength. In fact, it works to some extent.

The research funds given by American universities are ridiculously large.

“It’s just a way to make money at the middle and high school level.”

In any case, if you move, you will have to transfer schools, and if you do, you will lose the donation.

“How much did you donate?”

“We gave… 3 billion won [approximately $2.5 million USD].”

Park Do-joon sighed deeply at those words.

“Detective, what do you think?”

“The school probably knows. But they’re just letting it go because of the donation.”

“Why?”

“If one person moves out, one seat will be empty, right? Then who will fill that seat?”

Of course, someone else who donates will fill it. From the school’s point of view, it’s a lucrative business.

“So, this is what you meant by ‘resentment arises even when you haven’t done anything wrong’.”

Jealousy, envy, and discrimination are surprisingly often the cause of resentment in others.

People even kill people out of resentment because someone who was less successful than them is now more successful than them.

“What should we do? Should we go back to Korea now?”

“Well, it’s a dilemma. We’ve come all this way.”

If the situation is like this, Jang So-young will never be able to recall her memories. Her son’s future is about to be ruined, so how can she concentrate?

“I wonder if we can somehow encourage her to focus on her therapy?”

“I don’t think so. The human brain doesn’t process negatives well.”

“What?”

Lee Ji-soo tilted her head at those words. She didn’t know what that meant.

“No, why can’t you understand negatives? I understand everything.”

“Ah, I’m not talking about moral negatives, but that there are limits to imposing restrictions on thought.”

“Please explain it more simply.”

“Um, it’s like this. If I tell you not to think about an elephant, can you truly not think about an elephant?”

“Well… Huh? Um, it would be difficult, right? Ah. I see what you mean.”

“Yeah, Jang So-young is in a similar situation right now.”

If you tell someone not to think about an elephant, they will keep thinking about the elephant, thinking, ‘Why are you telling me not to think about an elephant?’ or ‘What does an elephant have to do with me?’

Even if you don’t say anything about the elephant, the elephant will keep popping up in your head.

This is what Park Do-joon meant when he said that the brain doesn’t understand negatives.

“If we tell Jang So-young not to think about Se-joon’s problems, she will only think about Se-joon even more.”

“That’s right.”

And that will escalate to the point where she feels she is neglecting Se-joon, and eventually she will feel guilty and only think about Se-joon again.

“The best thing to do is to solve Se-joon’s problems.”

“But is there a way? I heard they donated 3 billion won?”

“Well, there’s only one way.”

Park Do-joon shrugged his shoulders.

“We have to deal with it.”

“No, how can we? We’re not American police. Are you saying we should report it to the police?”

“No. Actually, it’s pointless to report this to the police.”

The reason why school violence is so prevalent in the United States is that, like the Korean police, the American police do not actively intervene in criminal activities within the school.

Of course, unless there is a clear crime such as murder or drugs, the American police, like the Korean police, tend to dismiss bullying because they think that fighting at school is something that can happen as they grow up.

“Moreover, there’s no way the police in this area don’t know about these racial discrimination issues.”

“Then what should we do?”

“What should we do? We have to solve it the American way.”

Park Do-joon shrugged his shoulders and said.

But Lee Ji-soo’s face turned pale at the next words.

“Go to school with a gun.”

“A gun?”

“Yes.”

“No, are you saying I should go to school with a gun? Then I’ll get shot!”

How many shootings have occurred at schools? Schools are extremely afraid of gun accidents. But if you go there with a gun?

You’ll probably get shot first without even being able to explain yourself.

“That’s the opposite of what I mean. I’m saying you should request a permit to carry a gun, not actually go there with a gun.”

“Yes? Why?”

“America is a country that values gun ownership. The Constitution even guarantees that right. Why do you think that is?”

“Well…”

“America has developed with the frontier spirit, the spirit of self-reliance and independence.”

You had to protect yourself from dangerous animals and all kinds of outlaws in the wilderness, so you had to arm yourself.

So, arming yourself became a right to protect yourself.”